Newcastle United's French empire just gets stronger

Newcastle United could very well be able to justify flying the French Tricolour on top of the club’s East Stand after a remarkable day in the January transfer window resulted in the arrival of three Ligue 1 stars to Tyneside

Newcastle United could very well be able to justify flying the French Tricolour on top of the club’s East Stand after a remarkable day in the January transfer window resulted in the arrival of three Ligue 1 stars to Tyneside.

Geordie fans have suffered a few anxious moments in the window this winter, and many were left scarred by a last-gasp snub from Loic Remy who opted to sign for rock-bottom Queens Park Rangers after being made a huge offer by the London club.

But since then, Newcastle have dusted themselves down and simply got on with tracking down the targets on their shortlist.

Alan Pardew said United were being aggressive in the transfer window, and bringing in four established stars in the window so far – with Lille’s former Ligue 1 winner Mathieu Debuchy already on board – will no doubt give the Magpies a major boost.

NOT many players can claim to be the skipper of a Champions League side at the age of just 23.

But that is the type of leadership qualities that the Magpies have snapped up – and he is a fully-fledged French international to boot.

Yanga-Mbiwa – who stands at 6ft - was part of the Montpellier side that won the title last season and he has already played his part in the qualifying phase of the World Cup with France on the road to Brazil.

Born in Bangui but raised in the suburbs of Marseille, the defender joined Montpellier as a youth player and blossomed quickly into first-team material.

He’s big, powerful and loves a tackle.

But more importantly he can slot straight into the United defence on the left-hand side in place of Fabricio Coloccini. He is also capable of carrying the ball out of defence and has been known to fill in at full-back.

UNITED have secured the services of Haidara for five-and-a-half years, and the left-back will provide competition for Davide Santon.

Shane Ferguson has slipped down the pecking order and is likely to be loaned out when the Football League loan window re-opens.

Newcastle feel that Haidara could step in sooner rather than later if needed after monitoring his performances in the last two years.

His role now will be to act as cover and then press harder next season.

He may be just 20, but he has already racked up 46 appearances for the Ligue 1 side.

Haidara has attracted interest from Roma and other Serie A sides, but the attacking full-back is the type of player that will get fans excited at St James’ Park – providing he is given enough opportunities to do so.

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Newcastle United are looking to sign Nancy left-back Massadio Haidara. The Chronicle understands that United have put in a bid for the 20-year-old and have been given permission to speak to the defender

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